August 16, 2010

Playground equipment destroyed in fire

       A playground at Sugar Grove Elementary School was destroyed during a fire Monday morning, and feces was smeared on parts of the building.  School officials tore out the damaged equipment, replaced the mulch and cleaned feces off a door and window in preparation for the start of classes today in the Center Grove school district.  The White River Township Fire Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.  Firefighters found the playground equipment engulfed in flames around 2:30 a.m. Monday.  The playground is about 25 feet from the school building. The plastic slides and towers were burning, and a metal bridge connecting the towers had collapsed, said Lt. Jim Engmark, spokesman for the fire department. Next to the playground, bushes were burning.  Whoever started the fire had taken old books from a trash receptacle, piled them on the fresh mulch under the playground equipment and set them on fire, Engmark said.  They tossed a few of the burning books into the bushes on the south side of the building, Engmark said.  Investigators didn’t find any immediate evidence of accelerants, such as lighter fluid, he said.

         Joseph and Julie Settles could see the fire from their home in the Brentwood neighborhood, which is about a football field’s length away from the school at 4135 W. Stones Crossing Road.  The flames were higher than the school building and stretched about two car lengths wide, Julie Settles said.  “It was not just a little flame. It went from nothing to this huge, hot fire with all this black smoke everywhere,” she said.  Her husband, who is a battalion chief for the White River Township Fire Department, called 911, she said.  Firefighters aren’t sure how long the playground was burning before the 911 call, but it wasn’t too long, because most of the structure was standing, Engmark said.  Firefighters put the blaze out within minutes, and school workers removed the damaged equipment later in the morning. They dug out the burned mulch and laid fresh mulch on the ground.  Workers hauled away the scraps of playground equipment and cleaned feces smeared on a door handle and window. The material on the window spelled “P2,” according to a report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators are trying to learn the significance of the symbol.  The playground equipment was one of three sets at the school, so children still can have recess outdoors, Principal Patti Duckworth said.  “This won’t interfere with the school day whatsoever,” she said.  The school plans to replace the playground set, which could cost $50,000 to $60,000 based on previous playground equipment purchases, said Dave Statler, Center Grove facilities director.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)
 

  
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